Awakening
by DarkLordRising
Summary: Due to a freak accident, Danzo gets his hands on Naruto and he's never heard of again in the public...until now.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well, I just wanted to know how many people are still on fanfiction. I took a break from it since HP ended but I am not sure if it is pretty active anymore.**

_**Awakening**_

_**By DarkLordRising**_

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**A difficult time awaits you...**

**An unsurmountable challenge...**

**Are you willing to accept your duty?**

**Are you willing to accept the responsibility it entails?**

**Only once you are sure, must you move on...**

**Seek me soon...The time has come...for us to unite...once again...**

I woke up.

It was the same dream that had been bothering me. The dream consisted only of that particular voice...asking me questions...tempting me...I could only hear the voice. The world always seemed darker when I heard it. I couldn't explain it but somehow it gave off a really bad vibe.

The voice spoke of joining with me as if it had been a severed part of me. I didn't-

"It's time to go...Come on..." A voice said to me. I instinctively turned around, kunai in hand, only to notice that it was my comrade who had spoken.

I nodded to him and we gathered our things from the small makeshift camp. Jumping onto the trees, we began our trip again.

It was well near midnight when we set up camp again. We were in the middle of a vast dessert which was to be expected since we were headed towards Suna.

"You seem distracted..." My companion said. "...I don't like distraction...It gets in the way of the mission."

I sighed, nodding again. He was simply stating page 300 section 9 paragraph 4 of the Shinobi code.

"Well...remove it from your mind...whatever it is..."

"I know..." I replied. It was unspoken how much this mission mattered. Then again, the subdivision of Root which I was part of never took trivial tasks.

"Who is the target?" I asked.

"You didn't read the mission detail?" My partner said, raising his eyebrows. He quickly masked the surprised emotion. "...I need to report this misconduct when we get back..."

"Report this and I will report the times you have lost control of your senses during a fight." I replied, in a monotone. "I repeat...Who is the target?"

"A kunoichi by the name of Temari. She sticks very closely to the Kazekage and we believe killing her when she is near the Kazekage would make it look like the Kazekage was the intended target."

"So why isn't the Kazekage the target to begin with?" I asked.

"Because master believes that the Kazekage is useful for Konoha...for now..."

I didn't reply and the conversation was considered ended as we turned in for the night.

I lay tossing and turning but sleep evaded me. Hesitantly, I got out of the tent. I looked at the sky and descerned the time from the clouds. The sun was about to rise soon.

I lay against a rock and looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled brightly as a small breeze fluttered past. It was a bit soothing.

**We are nearing the beginning of the end...Make your descision soon...**

I looked around sharply but couldn't find the source of the noise. It seemed to be coming from inside my head...How was this possible?

A short seal later, the chakra scan only informed me of my sleeping comrade's position, making me wonder if my ears were ringing.

**Ease yourself. It is only I...**

"Show yourselves!" I whispered, kunai in hand.

**It is unfortunate that you don't remember me...Let me refresh your mind.**

My eyes widened as I found myself standing in a black corridor. What was this place? How did I end up here? I controlled my emotions like I had been taught.

**Taught or forced?**

"Who the hell is there?" I snapped. It was not looking good. I was at a major disadvantage and I had already found myself stuck in this person's illusion. Dispelling didn't do anything at all.

**Still don't remember? Those memories must have really been buried deep. This will be painful. Try not to throw up.**

I stood there, hardening my fists as I prepared for the onslaught. It wasn't physical.

Sweat poured from my face as I clenched my teeth to bite back the pain. I had been taught to withstand great amounts of pain but this was simply a level beyond comprehension. I felt dizzy but managed to remain standing. What the hell was going on? I tried to concentrate but the pain made it hard to see anything. Then, suddenly...

_I stood in a small field. Soon, I realized that something was wrong. There was a certain dullness to the world, as if everything had been painted grey. What was going on?_

_A small sound made me tighten my grip on the kunai. A small boy burst out of the bushes as if he was escaping someone. I made my way over to him to see what was happening._

_To my surprise, the kid passed through me without a sound. It was like I had become a ghost._

**_This is a memory, Naruto...Your current self does not physically exist in it._**

_A memory? Is this my memory?_

_I received no reply but I didn't need one. It soon became clear as a tall, dark man approached the tired boy._

_"There is no need to run, kid." The man said. My eyes widened as I recognized him. It was the leader of Root, Danzo-sama himself, but what was he doing here?_

_"Stay away! Stay away!" The kid cried. "Umm...Er-I have planted mines across the entire field. Just stay away if you want to live."_

_Danzo smiled at the obvious lie and mockingly took a step forward._

_"It is time to stop playing games, young Naruto. The Hokage's guards have been very protective of the Fox... But I waited. I waited patiently. I knew there was going to be a slip someday. And now, I am finally rewarded." Danzo said, reaching forward. My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the little version of me. Had I really been that small?_

_The little version of me hesitantly took a step back, staring quite fearfully at the Danzo._

_"Come now, Naruto, how long will you hide behind the Hokage? Don't you want to know the truth?" Danzo asked._

_"The truth?" The kid version of me asked._

_"Ever wondered why everybody hates you?"_

_I froze. I felt a slight pain in the back of my head._

_"Why does nobody want to talk to me?" the kid asked, meekly. I knew this moment._

_"Come with me if you want to find out." Danzo said, smiling. "I promise I won't bite."_

_I remembered..._


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: So yeah...guess there really aren't many people here. Oh well.**

_**Awakening**_

_**By DarkLordRising**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

A slight jab in the shoulder gained my attention. I turned to my companion.

"What?" I asked.

"You were staring." He said, placing a slight emphasis on the last word. I blinked, turning back to the person I had apparently been staring at. She looked back at me, a bit confused by my behavior.

Her sleek blond hair flowed in the wind, her skin glistening in the warm sun. She had a slight pink tint around her cheek. She was quite a sight yet the only thing I could think about her was pinpointing the places where she had placed her weapons. The places were a bit obvious to me.

"What are you looking at, punk?" A loud voice averted my attention. Her companion, a weird tattoo'ed guy glared at me. I looked away, turning back to her.

However, I was surprised by my partner putting a hand around my neck.

"Sorry about him. He's been a bit weird since we arrived." He said. I looked down. We couldn't afford to blow our cover right now.

"Whatever." The tattoo'ed guy said, turning his back on us. We followed him across to the Kazekage's office. Our cover dictated that we were delivering a message from the Konoha Council. It enabled us to get a bit time to scope out the place.

_"All right, listen up." My partner said. I looked at him grumpily. He had woken me up in the middle of the night when we had just arrived a few hours ago at Suna. "Those guards allowed us entry because of this." He gave me an envelope. I just stared back at him to explain it quickly._

_"It's a message from the Konoha Council to the Kazekage. For our cover, master gave us the disguises of a messenger." He said. "Now, it would be extremely bad if they noticed that it was Konoha shinobi who assassinated the Kazekage's sister. We have to make it seem like a Suna shinobi did that. Thus, this cover will only help us to scope out the place. We get only one chance to check out this place. Don't blow it. I checked your file. I don't what is it with other people. It's not that impressive." He said, obviously jealous._

_I nodded and went back to sleep after flipping him off._

My eyes surveyed the place, carefully noting the windows where we could make our entry. The tattoo'ed guy stopped in front of a door and ushered us through. My companion and the target went inside while the guy pushed me back.

"I don't like you staring at my sister." The guy said, Kankuro, I think his name was. "I'll be watching you." I shrugged and went inside.

The Kazekage's office was not unlike the other offices in the building. It only consisted of a small bookshelf, a desk and a few chairs to accommodate visitors. The walls were painted a dull grey and there were only two windows, one of which was blocked by the Kazekage.

The Kazekage turned around at my entry and surveyed the two of us as we did the same to him. He was a tall, red-haired man, supposedly having been the strongest Genin of my batch. The large scar on the right of his cheek was given to him by the Copy-Cat Ninja of Konoha for 'misbehaving' in the historic Chunin exams of my decade. I had heard what had happened during the famous exam but I had been dispatched at that time, thus I had been unable to fight in the battle against Oto and Suna.

Now there was peace between our villages. If it could even be considered peace. I am not sure how I could just accept things like this, especially with the Kazekage's behavior during the exam. He had killed many innocent civilians that day before Kakashi-san had been able to disable him.

I controlled my feelings. We were Root. We were ninja. Emotions didn't exist for a ninja.

I offered him the letter without another word. He didn't move his gaze from my eyes. I stared back, wondering if he was onto us. It would be extremely dangerous if he were.

"Gaara?" Kankuro interrupted, a bit confused at our staring contest. The interruption broke the contest as we both turned towards him, silencing him. I turned back to the Kazekage, only to notice that he had taken the note from my hand. I hadn't noticed.

"Get out." The Kazekage said, perusing the letter. That was it. We left the building without another word. We were only messengers after all and it looked like the Kazekage didn't want to reply.

"Wait!" A voice made us halt just as we were approaching Suna's gates. I turned. It was the target.

"Gaara- Erm, the Kazekage would like you two to stay at Suna for a few days." She said, panting. "He would like to send a reply to Konoha."

My partner nodded, and together we followed her to a hotel where they had undoubtedly placed a watcher on us. It was to make sure we did everything normally. Like a messenger, of course. After the invasion, the 'thread of trust' between the two villages had become extremely thin. It was only at the Third's influence that Konoha was not at war with Suna right now.

"Thank you." My partner said, as we bowed formally and left her at the entrance. The receptionist guided us to the rooms personally and left, leaving us to our own devices.

"So, how do we proceed?" My partner asked, settling down beside me. We were only given one small room as accommodation. They wouldn't want to spend spare much expense for only 'messengers'. The treatment and budget would have been vastly different if a Daimyo was involved.

"Let's go explore the village." I said. He nodded.

Together we changed our clothes into more comfortable ones we found in the closet and made our way into the shopping district of the village. Having known my reputation, my companion knew my quirks. I believed that the shopping district was the best place to spot the watchers and discern if we could shake them.

"How many?" I asked.

"Two. A man and a woman." My partner said.

"The one in the red shirt and the woman who's acting too drunk?" I remarked. He nodded.

"Don't look too experienced." He said.

"Looks can be deceiving." I replied. "Let's take two more watchers just to be safe."

"Two more?" He said. "You are pushing it. One more is the best bet."

"Whatever." I said, dropping the garment I was pretending to to look at. "Let's go."

We headed back to our hotel, pretending to get lost on the way to throw off a bit of suspicion as we did.

"We have approximately two more days." My partner said. "We'll go to the office tomorrow asking if the Kazekage has a reply. He probably wouldn't and we get to scope it out a bit more."

"What if he has it?" I said.

"Then we leave quietly and silently return." My partner said, throwing himself down onto the futon. "If we are lucky, using the disguises of our watchers would be our best bet in hoping for a silent return."

"I think we can execute the target using Points mark." I said. My companion couldn't hide his surprise.

"Points mark? That didn't work for the Daimyo's hit, you know. Are you sure?" He asked.

"I am positive. It will work this time." I said. "I won't miss." I stared right at him.

"I don't like this." He said. "True it would make it a bit easier for us to place the blame on a Suna ninja but I think we should stick to the basics. Many things could go wrong if you miss."

I nodded but I could not help but think he wasn't saying everything. He was just a bit of a stickler to the rules and normal protocols.

_"HOLD YOURSELF BETTER!" A voice screamed at my face, spraying spittle on me. The man walked on._

_"YOU ARE ALL NOW OFFICIALLY A PART OF ROOT!" Danzo-sama exclaimed. "WE HAVE NO VOICE. WE HAVE NO ORDER. WE ARE UNCONTROLLED. WE ACT IN THE SHADOWS. DUE TO OUR SACRIFICE, MANY CAN LIVE PEACEFULLY."_

_"WE HAVE NO NEED FOR MINDLESS IDIOTS. WE NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN ADAPT TO ANY SITUATION. SETTING ASIDE HIS PERSONAL FEELINGS AND THINKING ONLY OF THE VILLAGE. THERE IS A REASON ROOT WORKS IN THE SHADOWS." Danzo-sama said, halting for breath. "WAR DOESN'T START NOR DOES IT END DUE TO THE MINDLESS ALBEIT COURAGEOUS BATTLES THAT A VILLAGE'S SOLDIERS FACE. IT STARTS WHEN THE CORRECT PAWN FALLS AND ENDS WHEN THE CORRECT PAWN FALLS."_

_"WE WORK IN THE SHADOWS. WE AVOID THE HEAD-ON BATTLES. FOR A BATTLE IS WON NOT ON THE BATTLEFIELD BUT OUTSIDE IT! LOOK ALIVE!"_

_We screamed in confirmation after that inauguration speech. I soaked up all his wisdom, believed all his tales. Now...I am not so sure. I find myself doubting everything the man has said. That 'memory' has evoked something in me. A small desire. A desire to find my true identity. Why did I grow to trust this man so much? Especially after the way I behaved when I first met him. What happened to me?_

_It was all a haze of darkness, waiting to be uncovered. But I was not ready yet. I wasn't ready to face the truth._

_Even if war was quickly approaching._

"Yes, he was expecting you. Right this way." The target said. She led us inside towards the Kazekage's office. I looked at my partner. It looked like we would have to sneak back in this time.

"Enter." The Kazekage's voice ordered when she knocked on the office door. We were ushered in. I stood to a halt in front of the Kazekage's desk, bowing slightly in greeting.

"It is highly unorthodox for the Fifth Hokage to send me a message especially before I am about to head out to the summit myself." The Kazekage said, staring deeply at us. His gaze lingered a bit longer on me but he finally turned away and focused on the letter.

"This letter...The contents of which, warn me of something that I already know due to my own sources. Waiting for this message has caused me a great deal of inconvenience." The Kazekage said. "I do not like inconvenience."

"The Hokage was just looking out for your best interests, sir." My partner said.

"I do not trust your Hokage." The Kazekage replied, simply. "This message makes me questions his motives. Out of my sight. You leave my village now."

We gave a stiff nod and saw ourselves out.

"Three of them." I mumbled, as the two of us approached Suna's entrance.

"Four." My partner said. "Missed the one near the monument."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Which ones?"

"Doing it your way is easy." My companion said. I smirked.

"Who needs easy?" I remarked, turning about with a kunai in hand.

"True." My companion smiled.

"Cover me." I said, widening my eyes as I made a seal. A small burst of lightning crashed out of my hand and thrust into the ground. The four watchers stared in astonishment as my other hand grabbed the jet of lightning and pulled it backwards, forming a small arc.

"This was easy." My partner said, thrusting his hands to the floor. At once dozens of hedgehogs burst from the ground, awaiting his command.

"I know." I said, gazing at the four watchers in turn. "...Hmm...Locked."

"Loaded." My companion replied, with a smile as his summons vanished.

I didn't need another incentive as I strummed the fingers of the hand that was 'pulling' the lightning stream. In a flash, four waves of lightning burst forth from the jet and struck our watchers in the head, knocking them out.

"Good work." My partner said, staring into my eyes. I stared back and grabbed his hand. When I looked around again, we were back on our way to Suna's gates, only our four watchers had collapsed.

"That's a handy ability." I said. Letting them focus their attention on me while he disabled them quickly. I was a bit glad I was his partner.

"Those idiots couldn't even comprehend that they were in an illusion." My partner replied. "If only they had been able to react...gave us a bit of fun." I doubted they could react if they wanted to. My partner was known for being on par with an Uchiha when it came to illusions and these were only low-level shinobi meant to raise the alarm if we did something unexpected. The real challenge lay ahead.

"We better get moving." He said. I nodded.

"Yeah..."

"I think we should go with the Points mark this time." He said. I stopped, turning to him in surprise.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I took out four people with a complex illusion. You should be able to take out one person with a simple technique." He said.

"Don't call it simple."

"Just get on with it."


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan :You'll find out soon. Very soon! Maybe in the next chapter...**

_**Awakening**_

_**By DarkLordRising**_

* * *

><p><strong> Chapter 2<strong>

A sense of urgency hung in the air as we quickly got rid of our fainted watchers. Changing into the uniform, I met my companion on a building overlooking the Kazekage's office at an appropriate angle.

"Got rid of your lot?" He asked me. I nodded.

"They'll never find them. You?" He nodded as well.

"You ready to do this?" He asked.

"I am ready." I replied, taking a deep breath. "Start the preparations."

My partner nodded and set to work on drawing a large circle around me. Using the stick that he had just made the circle with, he started etching runes into ground inside the circle and around me.

Points mark was a single-hit attack. If I missed, it was all over.

"Done." My companion said, once he was finished carving the last rune. I nodded silently, calming my mind.

I eradicated every single one of the things going through my brain while controlling my breath. I couldn't afford to lose focus.

I took a long deep breath. The window clearly showed the Kazekage sitting at his desk, reading some documents. The target was seated at the desk before him. If I made it go just over the Kazekage's shoulder, the attack would hit the target right in the heart.

I focused, calculating the wind resistance from the distance. It was flowing in my partner's direction, offering maximum resistance. I couldn't afford to miss this.

Blocking out all external voice, I took another deep breath, focusing my arm a bit under the Kazekage's shoulder. Owing to the wind resistance, it would 'miss' him and strike the target. I felt my heartbeat grow louder as it always did during this attack.

My companion watched me silently, standing stiffly. He knew even moving a single bit could distract me. I was grateful for that. He could be really patient when needed.

My eyes narrowed as sparks of lightning crackled on my hand. My arm grew extremely warm. Sizzling shades of blue, the lightning danced around as I felt my hand shake a bit. I had made up my mind and was just about to fire when-

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" A voice startled me. I looked at the source of the noise, my mind distracted. The Kazekage stood beside me, staring at me with a fierce gaze. My companion's face never registered shock as a burst of sand sent him flying.

I felt my helplessness grow to new heights as lightning shot from my palm and struck the window. An invisible banner blocked the lightning for a few seconds before breaking from the pressure. The weakened bolt of lightning ricocheted around the entire office.

I could see that the target was not hit as the lightning died down. I looked back at the Kazekage who had never taken his eyes off me, apparently unconcerned with the well being of his sister.

"... Mother craves for your blood...I will have fun taking it..." The Kazekage said, in an inhuman tone. I jumped backwards only to find a pillar of sand which knocked me down to the ground.

"...I will take...every...last...bit..." The sand engulfed itself around me, forcing me into a kneeling position before the Kazekage. The Kazekage smirked, advancing towards me, missing my own smirk in return.

I tightened the hold on the sand as water burst from my wrists. Almost instantly, the sand dropped to the ground as mud. Free from the hold, I jumped upward, intending to kick the Kazekage backwards. However, a wall of sand blocked my kick and I was sent jumping higher than I had expected.

Landing awkwardly, I twisted my ankle. Clenching my teeth, I stared at the Kazekage, waiting for him to make a move.

He thrust his hand into the ground and I found my feet bound. He was at a tactical advantage with the sand around us. But I was no pushover.

Rabbit. Rat. Horse. Ram. Speeding through the hand seals, I thrust my hand at the ground. Lightning burst from the tip of my fingers and shot towards the Kazekage. His defensive wall emerged again. I smirked.

In conjunction with the water release I had used earlier, the lightning gained momentum and burst through the sand, striking the Kazekage.

My eyes widened in shock as I watched a bit of his skin crumple. Another defense. No wonder he was a Kazekage even at such a young age.

I couldn't escape now. Without my companion, fighting against the Kazekage would be an insurmountable task once reinforcements arrived. The alarm had already been sounded. Konoha would be in grave trouble because of us. I could almost hear Danzo-sama's voice.

_"If everything goes wrong and your identity is made known. Destroy the strongest enemy you can find along with you. That's the only way left that will help the village for the hell you have brought upon it by failing."_

Strongest enemy. That was obviously the Kazekage. I inhaled deeply. There was no other choice. I had to use that technique.

While I had been contemplating my next move, I hadn't noticed a few Suna-nin arrive beside the Kazekage. I growled. Reinforcements had already arrived. This was going to make things much harder.

Luckily, my reinforcement arrived as well. My companion burst through from the roof of a nearby building and landed on this one, beside me.

"Sorry...I was a bit busy taking care of some idiots." My partner said. I nodded.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked, surveying the Suna-nin and the Kazekage in the middle of them.

"I-" It seemed like the Kazekage had different plans. With a small swipe of his hand, he sent everyone flying, including his own shinobi. I landed hard on the merciless sand which started surrounding me as I struggled to break free.

"Nobody touches this one but me..." The Kazekage said, tilting his face to the side, a mad expression on it. He smiled as he approached me. The sand started drowning me faster and I struggled helplessly until-

"Water Release: Water Drowning Technique" My companion yelled, as a large stream of water engulfed me along with the sand. I coughed, gagging from the sand in my mouth. Spitting on the ground, I stood up shakily.

My partner had taken a large blow on his shoulder due to him concentrating on my predicament. Blood was flowing freely from the useless arm and I could see that he wouldn't hold out much longer. Crouching slightly, I rushed through seals before aiming at my companion. The Suna-nin and the Kazekage watched, surprised by me aiming at my own partner.

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!" I said, as a gust of wind burst forth from my palm.

"What are yo- Aghhg" My partner gagged as he was sent flying from the attack while trying to dodge. It was for his own good.

I turned back, only to find the Kazekage staring back into my eyes, a wild grin on his face. I cursed. The earlier technique had taken off a huge chunk of my chakra. I just hoped there was enough to use my last resort.

In a split second, I reached forward to grab the Kazekage. His expression administered surprise as I rushed forward faster than his defensive wall of sand. I smiled. It was a special technique that Danzo-sama had taught me which utilized the Wind element to force my limbs faster. It was only good as a last resort surprise attack as it was extremely draining for the muscles in my limbs.

A small spark went off when I grabbed his hand and I think my face had enough time to register shock before my vision darkened completely...


End file.
